Kokomo, IN Fire Regulations: Outdoor Burning (2026)

Section 100.03 is written as an outright, all-hours ban inside the incorporated limits of the City of Kokomo, not a permit system: "no person within the city shall burn rubbish, garbage, yard waste, leaves, construction materials, tree limbs, or dangerous materials at any time." Section 100.04 carves out only two categories of exception. First, cooking fires in commercially available grills, food-only grills, enclosed barbecue pits, and manufactured portable outdoor fireplaces are allowed outright, subject to the Indiana Fire Code. Second, Twelfth Night ceremony fires, school pep-rally fires, scouting fires, and any fire the Fire Chief finds necessary for public health and safety need prior written approval from the Kokomo Fire Chief or a designee, and even then must burn only clean wood, stay attended until fully out, keep extinguishing water on hand, stand at least 50 feet from anything combustible and 500 feet from any fuel storage area or pipeline, and never occur in a public right-of-way or during air inversions, high winds, or other unfavorable weather.

Section 100.05 requires construction and development burning to separately meet all state emissions and burning requirements, and § 100.06 layers on additional rules for nonresidential burning, including a stationary-incinerator requirement, Indiana Department of Environmental Management incinerator limits, and a 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. burning window.